Air conditioner



Jan. 9, 1940. P. F. sPERRY 2,186,562

AIR coNDITIoNER FiledDec. `51, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 Shee'ts-Sheet 2 Jan. 9, 1940. P. F. SPERRY 2,185,562

AIR coNDITloNER l Filed Deo. :51, 1937 4 sheets-sheet :s

j] FIE-E- A l I "55 ff/ff Jan. 9, 1940. P. l|. sPERRY 2,186,562

AIR coNDI'rIoNER Filed Dec. 31, 1937 4 sheets-sheet 4 FIEZ Patented Jan. 9, 1940 AIR CONDITIONER Philmore F. Sperry, Chicago, Ill., assgnor to Excel Auto Radiator Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware- Application December 31, 1937, Serial No; 182,781

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to heat exchange devices, and is particularly directed toward devices of this character which are employed in automobiles for either heating or cooling pur- 6 poses for maintaining the proper temperature in the passenger compartment thereof.

One form of the invention is shown as embodied in a heat exchange device of the character described, which device comprises a radiator unit having connections whereby it may be connected in the cooling water system of the automobile. The device has also a motor driven fan for circulating air through the radiator in both directions, a portion of the air being driven directly into the passenger compartment of the automobile and a portion of the air being driven to a conduit throughwhich it may be directed to a particular part of the vehicle, such as the Wind shield, for heating .the particular part. The device shown embodies also a valve means whereby the cooling water system may be cut oi -from the radiator, and if desired, other iiuid may be used to ll the radiator in using the device for extracting heat from the air.

An air inlet is provided from the exterior of the vehicle to the fan, whereby fresh air may be drawn into the vehicle compartment. The device is also provided with storage compartments associated with the radiator for the storage of a cooling medium. Owing to its vavailability vthe cooling medium may be the so vcalled dry ice, which is carbon dioxide in solidform. The storage space in the device is so arranged that the cooling material, whether it be dry ice or some other suitable material such, for example, as ordinary ice, may be readily inserted with a minimum amount of difiiculty, thus making itv simple to,- service the device and replace the cooling medium.

For the purpose of servicing the device with the Acooling medium, it is contemplated that service stations may be equipped with machines for producing carbon dioxide in solid form as needed Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a portion of a passenger automobile, illustrating the position of the present device therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; v

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the heat exchange device;

Fig. 4 is a front View of the device;

Fig. `5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a rear View of the device;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 4, and f Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the air inlet for the device, showing the mounting thereof in the wall of the passenger automobile.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention is shown as embodied in a heat exchange device I0 which is mounted in any suitable fashion upon the dash II of a passenger automobile I2. The heat exchange device I0 is connected by a ilex- Aible conduit I3 to an air ltering container I4 the automobile. threaded sleeve I6 projecting through the hood which is secured to a portion I5 of the hood of The container ,I4 has a'screw portion I5 and clamped to the hood portion by a 1 nut II which is locked in place by a locknut I8. Thecontainer I4 maybe filled with a suitable filtering material such,k for example, as metal wool I9. A screen 20 covers thev opening of the lsleeve I 6 through the container I4. The containeril is so arranged that its connection to the flexible conduit I3V is above the sleeve I6, in order to prevent rain or snow from entering the conduit I3. l,

The., heat exchange device I0 comprisesa cupshaped casing 2I. The casing 2| has three openi ings 22, 23 and 24 inthe front thereof. The `opening 22 is iitted with a ring 25 which is held in place by a series of clips 26 (see Fig. 5.) so that it may'be rotated in the opening 22. `The ring 25 carries a plurality of vanes 2'I (see Fig. 4) which are hinged to the ring by hinge pins 28 and ears 29 and 30 formed upon the ring and the vanes respectively, as is shown in Fig. 5.

Each of the vanes 21 has a finger-piece 3| thereon by which it may be pulled out or pushed inwardly to control the flow of air through the opening 22. The opening 23 is closed by a cap 3,2 (see Figs. 4 and 8) whichl carries a spring .clip 33 that envide an inlet passage,'as will be more fully degages an inturned flange 34 around the opening 23. The opening 24 is closed with a similar cap 35 which also carries a spring clip 36 for engaging a flange 31 around the opening 24. At the rear of the casing 2| the casing is extended near one end as shown at 38 (see Fig. 3) and is closed by a cover 39. The cover 39 is se cured to the casing 2| by suitable screws 46, as shown in Fig. '1. The cover 39 is pressed out at 4| and 42 and enlarged further at 43 to proscribed hereinafter. Opposite the enlargement 43, the portion 38 of the casing 2| is provided with a semi-circular recess 44 in which a connecting nipple 45 is tted. The nipple 45 is held in place by a screw bolt 46 which extends through the enlarged portion 43 of the cover 39 and through th'e nipple 45 into the casing 2| The Vnipple 45 receives the conduit I3 to establish connection to the interior of the casing 2| from the filter container |4. A back cover plate 41 is secured to the casing 2| and extends from the cover 39 to the opposite end of the casing 2 I. This cover plate 41 is fastened to the casing 2| by screws 48 which also secure a mounting bracket 49 to the casing 2|. The cover plate 41 has two end anges 56 and 5I at the top and bottom portions respectively (see Fig. 6) which abut corresponding flanges 52 and 53 which are formed on the extended portion 38 ofthe casing 2|. A plurality of screws 54 secure the flanges together to complete the enclosure. The cover plate 41 is offset backwardly at 55 (see Fig. 5 at the left) to provide a fan chamber 56 and is extended inwardly over the fan chamber 56 as shown at 51 and is then offset backwardly again at 58. At the rear edge of the oiset portion 58 the cover plate 41 has a hat portion 59 upon the rear face of which a fan motor 66 is mounted. The fiat portion 59 has an opening 6| through which the motor shaft 62 extends. 'I'he motor 66 is secured to the flat portion 59 by suitable bolts 63 extending through the motor casing. The flat rear wall portion 59 is connected to the extension rear cover member 39 by a dished casing portion 64 which abuts the cover member 39 and fits upon the portion 59 of the plate 41, as is shown in Figs. and '1.

A fan housing 65 is supported on the portion 59 of the plate 41, being secured thereto by suitable screws 66. Within the housing 65 there is a fan 61 having its blades 68 arranged to draw air in axially of the fan, and discharge the air outwardly into the housing 65. The fan 61 is fixed yto a flange 68' of a hub 69 that is fixed upon the motor shaft 62. The housing 65 has a tangential `outlet 16 which extends through the offset portion 58 of the plate 41 and beyond the plate' 41 where it may be connected to any suitable conduit for directing the air to the proper place.

As shown in Fig. '1, the portions `55 and 61 f of the plate 41 have slots 1| therein, these slots being provided to admit air to the fan chamber 56. A movably mounted closure plate 12 shown in detail in Fig. 6 is adapted to regulate the degree of opening of the slots 1|. The plate 1 is secured to the portion 51 of the plate 4 by headed screws 13 and 14 which are threaded into the portion 51 and which ride in slots 15 `and 16 in the plate 12. The plate 12 is provided with a plurality of apertures 11 that are located behind the slots 1|, and'by moving the plate 12 to bring the apertures 1-1 more or less of opening for letting air into the fan chamber 56 may be controlled. 'I'he plate 12 is yieldingly pressed against the portion 51 of the cover plate 41 by a leaf spring 18 that is mounted on the outlet 16. The fan 61 carries a series of fan blades 19 which are arranged in the chamber 56 in front of the housing 65. The blades 19 are riveted to an out-turned ange 86 on the fan 61. Between the flange 86 .and the blades 19 a ring 8| is secured. This ring 8| has a forwardlyturned lip 62 around its inner periphery. The fan construction is such that the blades 19 force the air forwardly as shown in Fig. 5 so as to drive th air through a radiator unit 84' while the fan blades 68 tend to force the air outwardly through the housing 65, and thus create a suction backwardly through the ring 8|, to draw air backwardly through the radiator unit 84. The plate 12 may be adjusted by means of a gear 85 carried by a'shaft 86 that extends out at the front of the casing 2| and carries a handle 81. The plate 'l2 has teeth 88 cut at its periphery to cooperate with the gear 85.

The radiator unit 84 comprises spaced head- `ers 89 and 96 which are connected by a multiplicity of horizontally extending tubes 9|, 92 and 93, the header 89 being shown in Fig. 9

and the header so at the right in Figs. 5 and 6.

The tubes 9| 92 and -93 are flattened and arev arranged in a plurality of rows, the tubes 9| being near the front, while the tubes 92 are near the back, and the third row of tubes 93 are between the first two mentioned rows. Radiating fins 94 are carried by the tubes 9|, 92 and 93, as will be readily understood.l The header 89 is divided by a partition 95 (see Fig. 9) into upper and lower compartments 96 and 91. The pipe 98 provides an inlet to the uppercompartment 96. The pipe 98-has its inner end provided with a seat 99 for a valve |66. The valve |66 is provided with a stern |6| which projects out through the header 89 and through the casing 2| where it is provided with a knurled knob |62. The stem |6| of the valve |66 has an enlarged screw threaded portion |63, which is threaded in a sleeve |64 that is carried by the header 89 and sealed thereto with a water tight joint. In order to prevent leaking around the valve stem |6I, a gasket |65 and a washer |66 are heldin place 'around the stem |6| by a cap |61 that is threaded onto the outer end of the sleeve |64. An outlet pipe |68 extends into the header 89 in the compartment 91 and is controlled by a valve |69 which has a stem ||6 provided with a knob handle similar to the knob |62 for the valve |66. The two valve constructions are identical, and it is believed that they need not be further described. When the valves |66 and |69 are open, and the pipes 98 and |98 are connected to the cooling water system of the automobile engine, the hot water from this system will be circulated f'rom the pipe 98 through the compartment 96 and the upper tubes 9|, 92 and 93 that connect with this compartment, then downwardly through the header 96 and back through the lower tubes 9|, 92 and 93 to the compartment 91 where it may return by the pipe |68.

The header 96 is provided at its top with an inlet ||2- (see Fig. 8) which is controlled by a valve ||3 and which has a filling funnel ||4. At the bottom of the header 96 an outlet fixture H5 is provided. A valve Ils controls the outlet ||5. Theheader 96 has two annular passages -75 into alignment with the slots 1|, the amount ||1 and |I8'extending through it from front to back. 'I'hese passages are directly opposite and in line with theopenings 23 and 24. At the back side, the passages ||1 and ||8 open upon the air passage from the nipple 45 in front oi'. back cover 39. Thus, if a cooling material is placed in the passages and H8, air coming in through the nipple 45 is directed across the back of the passages to be initially cooled at this point.

To conveniently supply cooling media in the passages and ||8, there is provided a container ||9 for each passage. This container has a removable cover which is provided with a vent opening |2| for the escape of gases when the container is filled with a substance such as dry ice. As illustrative of the use of the device, a quantity of dry ice is shown at |22 in each of the containers ||9. l

It is believed to be evident from the foregoing description that the containers ||9, when lled with a suitable cooling material such as l dry'ice, will act to cool any liquid in the header 90. The passages and ||8 are completely encircled by the header 90. As the liquid is cooled in the header 90, it will of course tend to circulate through the tubes 9|, 92 and 93, and air blown across these tubes will be cooled. Thus, it is evident that the device can be used to draw fresh air into a car through the lter container I4 and cool the air before discharging it into the interior of the car. It is contemplated that when the device isl used for cooling air, the water from the coolingwater system of the engine will be drawn outof the headers 89 and 90, and with the valves |00 and |09 closed, another liquid such as alcohol will be used to iill the radiator core.

While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that it. is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims in which it is the intention to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as possible in view of the prior art.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A heat exchange device for automobiles, comprising in combination two headers in horizontally spaced relation to,each other, a series of tubular connecting members from one header to the other in mutually spaced relation to each other, adapted with said headers to hold a supply of liquid and arraiged at different levels so as to encourage the circulation of the liquid from one header to the other. means for holding a supply of refrigerant in effective position with respect to one of said headers for a ready transfer of heat from the liquid thereto, and means for forcing air through the spaces between said tubular connecting members.

2. A heat exchange devicey for automobiles, comprising in combination two headers in horizontally spaced relation to each other, a series of tubular connecting members from one header to the other in mutually spaced relation to each other adapted with said headers to hold a supply of liquid and arranged at different levels so as to encourage the circulation of the liquid from one header to the other, a tubular member extending through one of said headers for the reception of a supply of refrigerant in effective position for a ready transfer of heat yfrom the liquid thereto, and means for forcing air through the spaces between said tubular connecting members.

3. A heat exchange device for automobiles, comprising in combination two headers in horizontally spaced relation to each other, a series of tubular connecting members from one header to the other in mutually spaced relation to each other adapted with said headers to hold a supply of liquid and arranged at different levels so as to encourage the circulation of the liquid from one header to the other, two sleeves extending through one of' said headers one in spaced relation above the other, two receptacles removably mounted in said Sleeves for holding a supply of refrigerant in effective position for the ready transfer of heat from the liquid thereto, and means for forcing air through the spaces between said tubular connecting members.

4. A heat exchange device for automobiles, comprising in combination two headers in horizontally speced'relation to each other, a series of tubular connecting members from one header to the other in mutually spaced relation to each other adapted with said headers to hold a supply of liquid and arranged at different levels so as to encourage the circulation of the liquid from l one header to the other, sleeves extending through one of said headers one in spaced relation above the other, two receptacles removably 

